2005 Public
Affairs Institute Brochure Available Online
Registration will start soon for the second
annual CTPAA Public Affairs Institute, November 14-16, 2005, at
The Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. CTPAA members will be
individually mailed a brochure outlining the program within the
next 10-14 days. Detailed information is also available on the
CTPAA
Web site, including an electronic version of the 2005
Institute brochure.

Held in partnership with The George Washington University
Graduate School of Political Management, this three-day graduate
level program is specifically targeted at mid to senior level
public affairs executives who are willing to challenge
themselves to develop the enhanced skill sets necessary to meet
the challenge of today's competitive marketplace.

Applications will be accepted beginning August 1, 2005, and
successful candidates will be notified in mid-October. Tuition
for the program is $3,000 and includes lodging and most meals.
Contact Steve Jones at 202-775-1083 or sjones@ctpaa.org for additional information.
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Comcast More
than Doubles Commitment to Bowen Diversity Internship Program
Comcast Corporation has more than doubled
its participation as a corporate sponsor in the Emma
L. Bowen Foundation's multi-year work/study program to
provide opportunities for minorities in media. Comcast will
offer work experiences to 19 interns at properties across the
country. This level of commitment represents nearly 10 percent
of the Foundation's summer employment opportunities for
high-achieving minority students. The Foundation's unique,
five-year program provides interns with invaluable work
experience and industry-specific skills while allowing them to
earn a salary to help pay for higher education. Students begin
the program in the summer after their junior year in high school
and continue to work for the same company during school breaks
until their graduation from college. As they grow in the
program, they are able to take on increasing levels of
responsibility and further expand their knowledge by
participating in professional development workshops, a community
service award program, and mentoring programs. Comcast will host
nine returning interns and ten new interns this year. In
addition, Comcast grants every student a $1,000 scholarship
through its Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program, funded by
the Comcast Foundation.

More than one thousand qualified students applied for the
approximately 80 positions available for the Emma L. Bowen
Foundation's 2005 summer program. Currently, nearly 200 students
are gaining invaluable experience through the Foundation.
Approximately 70 percent of Foundation graduates accept
permanent positions in the media industry after college. The
Foundation was established in 1989 by the media industry to
increase access to permanent job opportunities for minority
students. For more information contact Nancy Page of Comcast at
215-981-7778 or contact the Foundation at 202-637-4494.
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World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has joined America
Supports You, a Department of Defense program that showcases and
communicates America's support for men and women in the armed
forces. By signing on, WWE is reaffirming its longstanding
commitment to military men and women and their families. WWE is
urging fans to participate in a letter-writing campaign to thank
the troops for the sacrifices they make for the country. Fans
may submit letters online
and they will be entered in a drawing to win a trip to the Great
American Bash, WWE's upcoming pay-per-view special that will air
live from the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y. on July 24. Each
letter writer will receive a Great American Bash poster
featuring WWE diva Torrie Wilson. The letters will be posted on
WWE's Web site dedicated to the military, http://www.magnetmail.net/ls.cfm?r=12817669&sid=577318&m=105458&u=CTPPA&s=http://troops.wwe.com/,
so that troops around the world can read them. WWE's Web site
also includes a link to America
Supports You to direct fans to additional ways to became
more involved in supporting military personnel and their
families. The company will also promote America Supports You
through PSAs featuring wrestling stars.

WWE has taken many other steps to support U.S. troops. The
organization has sent millions of dollars worth of t-shirts,
videos and DVDs, promotional items, magazines and CDs to
military personnel on the front lines. WWE Superstars regularly
visit military bases and hospitals at home and abroad, with
regular trips to Iraq and Afghanistan and special events in
Japan, Korea, and Germany. Troops returning home from the
frontlines in Iraq and Afghanistan are often surprised by WWE
Superstars, some of the first celebrities to visit wounded
soldiers at Walter Reed Medical Center and Bethesda Naval
Hospital. For the past two years, WWE SmackDown! Superstars have
performed a televised holiday special from Iraq that was
broadcast to Americans and troops around the globe. A portion of
the proceeds from DVD sales of this event support the USO's
Operation Care Package that sends "a touch of home" to Armed
Forces deployed around the world. Through this and other
fundraising activities, WWE has raised tens of thousands of
dollars for the care package program and for the Marine Corps
Law Enforcement Foundation, an organization that provides
financial assistance to children of those who lost their lives
while serving the country. For more information, contact Gary
Davis, vice president of corporate communications for WWE, at
203-353-5066.
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2005 Beacon
Finalists' Three-Page Summaries Available on CTPAA Web Site
CTPAA members may now view the 2005 Beacon
Finalists' three-page summaries, available on the CTPAA Web site
by visiting the Beacon
page or the Members-Only
section. These summaries are the core of each Beacon entry
and detail the planning, implementation and results of a
successful cable public affairs initiative. Each year CTPAA
invites all Beacon Finalists to submit their project summaries
to be placed on the Web site. They can be a helpful resource to
review successful public affairs initiatives or serve as a good
model for preparing a 2006 Beacon entry. To view the summaries,
members will be asked to log-in by entering their username
(their email address) and their password (their last name), all
in lowercase letters. CTPAA hosts the Beacon Awards each year to
honor excellence in public affairs throughout the cable
industry. For more information, contact Michelle Butler at mbutler@ctpaa.org.
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Lifetime
Honored by American Association of University Women with Media
Award Lifetime Television received the
inaugural National Media Award from the American Association of
University Women (AAUW) for its leadership on behalf of women
and girls, particularly the network's "Our
Lifetime Commitment" public education and advocacy
campaigns. These award-winning campaigns aim to improve the
lives of girls and women and their families through education,
awareness and legislation. They include efforts to stop violence
against women, to encourage women to register, vote and run for
elected office, to raise awareness of breast cancer, and to
foster self esteem in women and girls.

Lifetime received the award during the opening session of
AAUW's National Convention that brought more than 1000 people to
Washington, DC, beginning on June 24th. Several prominent women
spoke at the convention including Jehan Sadat, women's rights
activist and widow of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, and former
Secretary of State Madeline Albright. AAUW, composed
of a national network of more than 100,000 bipartisan members
and 1,200 branches, has been a leading advocate for equity for
women and girls since 1881.
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Bright House
Networks Employees Hit the Road to Fight Multiple Sclerosis
More than 50 Bright House Networks
representatives completed the 2005 MS 150 Bike Tour: Wheels,
Whales & Tails, hosted by the Mid-Florida Chapter of the
Multiple Sclerosis Society. Volunteers from the company's
Central Florida Division, Tampa Bay Division and Florida Group
Office participated in the 168-mile round trip bike tour on
April 9 and 10. The company, along with its two regional news
channels, Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13, raised more
than $7,500 for the Society and served as the event's official
media sponsors.

The two-day Wheels, Whales & Tails bike ride raised a
total of more than $430,000. Its scenic route took riders from
Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, through Florida's Green Swamp, then
to SeaWorld Adventure Park in Orlando, and back to Tampa. The
funds raised benefit the Society's education, research and
advocacy efforts to end the devastating effects of MS, a chronic
disease of the central nervous system affecting the brain and
spinal cord and usually striking adults between the ages of 20
and 50.

In 2004, John Rigsby, president of Bright House Networks
Florida Group Office, received the MS chapter's Silver Hope
Award, the highest honor presented by the local chapter.
Rigsby was given the award for his outstanding
leadership, community service and philanthropy. For more
information, contact Kena Lewis at kena.lewis@mybrighthouse.com.
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Cox New
Orleans Recognized as Distinguished Partner in Education
Cox Communications - New Orleans was named
one of Louisiana's Distinguished Partners in Education, an honor
bestowed by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education (BESE) and the Louisiana Department of Education. Cox
earned the honor for its 25-year commitment to education in the
New Orleans area. The Distinguished Partners in Education
program, began in 1989, recognizes businesses, industries,
associations or individuals whose contributions to education
extend further than just financial resources. Winners are
selected based on the impact evident in their partner schools
and their sustained commitment to quality education. A panel of
previous recipients and representatives from the Louisiana
Department of Education chose Cox and eight other companies to
receive this year's honors.

Since 1989, Cox New Orleans has invested more than $100
million of in-kind resources to improve education in its
community. Cox provides over 400 public, private and parochial
schools with free basic cable service and offers more than 540
hours per month of commercial-free educational programming at no
cost to teachers. Annually, Cox also challenges and honors
students and teachers through several educational contests and
awards programs including the Cox Inspirational Student Heroes
Program, Black History Art Contest, Amazing Women Essay Contest,
and Excellence in Education Awards. For more information,
contact Brad Grundmeyer at brad.grundmeyer@cox.com.
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